XP will combine activities into four businesses: XBOX Pictures, XBOX Products, XBOX Places and XBOX Partnerships.
- XP will be led by Kayleen Walters, who had previously headed Minecraft developer Mojang.
- XBOX appointed former Reddit Chief Product Officer Maria Angelidou-Smith as Mojang’s new CEO.
- XBOX is going through a significant restructuring, with Microsoft recently announcing plans to cut around 3,200 gaming jobs.
Microsoft’s (MSFT) gaming division, XBOX, announced a major expansion of its entertainment business on Thursday, unveiling a new division called XP that will bring its popular gaming franchises into movies, television, merchandise and live experiences.
XBOX Chief Strategy Officer Matthew Ball said the company’s ambition is to become the “number one entertainment company in the world,” as it looks to reach audiences beyond traditional gaming.
MSFT shares were up around 0.3% at the time of writing, on track for their fifth straight session of gains.
XP Will Aim To Expand Its Gaming Universe
XP will combine activities previously spread across different XBOX teams into four businesses – XBOX Pictures for movies and television, XBOX Products for merchandise, XBOX Places for live events and attractions, and XBOX Partnerships for brand collaborations.
XP will be led by Kayleen Walters, who previously headed Minecraft developer Mojang and spent 13 years at Lucasfilm working on Star Wars.
Under her leadership, Minecraft surpassed 425 million copies sold, while A Minecraft Movie reportedly grossed more than $960 million at the box office. Mojang is a unit of Microsoft.
Separately, XBOX appointed former Reddit Chief Product Officer Maria Angelidou-Smith as Mojang’s new CEO, effective October 19.
XBOX’s Restructuring Continues Amid Weak Console Demand
The announcement comes as XBOX undergoes a major restructuring under CEO Asha Sharma. In July, Microsoft announced plans to cut around 3,200 gaming jobs, or 20% of its workforce, during fiscal 2027.
The cuts affect Halo Studios, other game developers and XBOX’s management teams. Microsoft recently said it has completed about three-quarters of its restructuring and announced plans to sell several studios.
XBOX Chief Content Officer Matt Booty said the changes aim to simplify operations, strengthen gaming franchises and reduce the number of business units. The restructuring also comes amid weaker console demand, with Microsoft expecting a decline in XBOX content, services and hardware revenue in the fourth quarter (Q4) of fiscal 2026.
Could Halo Be Made Into A Movie?
Retail sentiment on Stocktwits surrounding MSFT remained ‘neutral’ over the past 24 hours.
One user wondered whether the formation of XP would lead to Halo being made into a movie. Halo is among XBOX Studio’s highest-selling games of all time.
View this Stocktwits post
MSFT shares have gained more than 12% so far this year.
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